Varusteleka and Other Brands that Fit “Small Tall” Peeps - RDM
For those that are skinny, lanky, Flaco, beanpoles, razor hipped and so forth, it can be challenging to find clothes not only long enough but that aren’t shaped to fit someone with a belly or a massive chest or both.
In my years of buying clothes and gear I’ve had to learn more than most because I never fit in anything. My shoes especially were always a problem. One year, during basketball season I had to buy a new pair of shoes every week because my feet grew that fast. The only thing that fit at the time were the most expensive Reebok Pumps…I made my money back because they wore out fast for tennis. This meant I could wear them out in a week, then bring them in and complain and get a new pair for free (as I should!)
Fast forward to today I’m 6’2” about 160 lbs with narrow shoulders. I do not have a beer belly either. My dimensions do not lend themselves to just about any clothes. Let my suffering guide you through your gauntlet of fitting with the following information:
Use a tailor!
If nothing fits, get it close and then take it to an actual tailor. They can work wonders on clothes. There is a cost, but for basic things it may be $15 or even less. I recently took in a slew of pullovers and hoodies made out of fleece and merino, as well as some wool sweaters. We’re talking about 6 pieces. I spent $116. But now everything fits.
When everything fits it looks better. It feels better. It keeps you much warmer too. I thought certain things just “didn’t work.” Now that the size is correct I’m like holy crap, this piece is awesome!
I even took an old off brand merino baselayer that I didn’t like the fit of and cannibalized it to add some material to an icebreaker baselayer so that the bottom and the sleeves were long enough. I did the same thing with an Avalance grid fleece hoody and made it so the size small R1 pullover had a hem that was 3” longer. Now the fit is perfect!
Also, just think that any single/new layer could cost anywhere from $120 to $250. So for $116 I got 6!! Fucking Six!!…basically brand new pieces.
Get to know your measurements!
What are your body measurements? Chest, waist, hip, sleeve? Go to a Men’s Warehouse and they’ll take them for free and write them down for you. Save this information for later. It helps when looking at a manufacturers site and they give you a size chart. For us tall people that are not pot bellied we usually fall between two sizes. Then look at reviews and get a sense of how something fits from there as well. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and buy the Medium and the Large and then send back the one that doesn’t work. Just make sure you understand the return policy first. You may be on the hook for shipping. So a “free” return can cost you money, so check and see if the manufacturer covers shipping both ways.
Get to know your clothing’s measurements!
This can sometimes be misleading but the big item is the pit to pit measurement. That will give you an idea of how snug the garment is. The next two biggies are sleeve length, which is unfortunately not standardized AND many idiots do not say HOW the item was measured. There’s about 50 ways to measure sleeve length and it is NOT enough to say shoulder to wrist. Last is the hem length, which will tell you if you’ll suffer plumbers butt or if this will be a dress or the all elusive goldilocks where it’s juuuuuust right!
Get to know your Brands and Regions
A friend of mine is about the exact same dimensions as Yvon Chounard. Of course, if you own the company, the clothes fit you well. So Patagonia fits my buddy perfectly every time. Here is a list of companies that clothes fit me well, or can be tailored to fit. And yes…you can tailor a down/puffy jacket! This list is not comprehensive and sizing patterns are always changing with these companies. For example Smartwool and Icebreaker have flipflopped. I love icebreaker, but they’ve gotten short and stubby and smartwool has gotten narrow and long.
Varusteleka - Their own Sarma brand has medium talls that fit slim!
Patagonia - some of their clothes fit well in a small or medium…they still have the potbelly issue, but that’s what tailors are for! Their pants have waist and lengths, including long sizes!
Salewa - Many European brands fit slim, but not always long enough
Dynafit - Again, European countries are slimmer fit
LL Bean - Has some slimmer fitting tall mediums. Most of their stuff is sized for LARGE pot bellies though…tailor them. Their flannels are sized very well for me.
Compression Socks - I found that some compression socks just fit my long skinny feet very well. I don’t think their doing the compression that they mention, but rather they just fit well!
Marmot - Usually a large fits well or a medium. Some items aren’t long enough though. They do have long sizes in some of their pants
Smartwool - I usually get a small. They used to fit huge, but now they’re long/skinny
Icebreaker - These guys used to fit really well, now they’ve gotten shorter/wider. I however, use a tailor and an old merino top to extend the arms and hem lengths.
The North Face - Forget it….boxy and short
Bight Gear
Mammut - Euro and long!
CotoPaxi - I have a Fuego LT Vest and it fits pretty darn good. The side panels are about .1 grams of Polartec Alpha and some nylon, but the design works well for not sweating out the piece.
La Sportiva
Fjallraven - has some long sizes
66° North - Pretty close to great fit
Cottage Brands - There are a lot of them and each is different. Knowing your measurements and those of your favorite duds will help. Just email them with your info and ask them to help you choose. Most will say buy both sizes and try them on.
Hyperlite Mountain Gear - I have the Southwest 3400 Large. My ideal would be to get this customized and have the med or small waist belt, as well as remove the hydration port. Also, seam seal the bottom while you’re at it because they didn’t seal that one and it’s kind of one that counts.
Outdoor Research - Generally speaking their stuff runs long and big, so if normally a medium get a small or XS.
Voormi - It seems they might work well. Have not tried anything of theirs though.
Arc’Teryxyxyx - Medium in most jackets fits me. Small or medium in tops. I have a Thorium AR in Medium, but have tried various fleeces on in med/small.
Tell me what brands or pieces work for you and I’ll add/share them here!
I hope this has helped some with their first world struggles.
Love Dilley
